Disposable plates and bowls are ideal for many situations where food is served. They are appropriate for everything from small gatherings all the way to large-scale operations, and can be found at casual events as well as more formal affairs. These items offer both practicality and convenience on multiple levels. Low cost, light weight, compact storage, shatterproof design, and easy clean-up, are some of the factors contributing to widespread application of this type of single-use tableware.
Frequently called “paper plates” (or “paper bowls”, which differ from plates primarily by having a deeper cavity), these articles are in fact made from a variety of materials in addition to paper. Regardless of the material of manufacture, though, functionality is paramount for disposable dishes.
[NOTE: Hereinafter the term “disposable dish” refers to a plate or bowl that is intended to be discarded after use as opposed to being washed and reused.]
Prior art disposable dishes typically consist of a food surface surrounded by a raised rim; they meet where the food surface flares outwards. The food surface is the area of the dish expected to accept food. When the dish is in a level food-holding orientation, the raised rim is higher than the food surface such that the disposable dish has to some extent a concave shape. This concave shape means there's a recess for holding any contents placed on the dish. Depending upon the type of food it's presumed to hold, the disposable dish may be quite shallow or otherwise.
The raised rim performs a number of functions. First, it acts to contain food on the food surface by forming part of the concave shape. The rim also adds overall rigidity to the disposable dish and supplies a means for the object to nest with other dishes making possible “stackable” storage. Finally, as a consequence of it being a raised section above the food surface, the rim provides a place for a user's thumb to rest when the user is grasping the disposable dish so that the user isn't forced to lay their thumb on the food surface and thereby potentially come into contact with food thereon.
Subject to its size and structure, a disposable dish can serve either as a food serving platter or as the dish from which food is actually eaten (using fingers or a utensil).
Though they tender much utility, disposable dishes aren't problem-free. Because they're meant to perform a temporary role, disposable dishes are usually thin and light and not as rigid as more “permanent” food serving platforms. This flimsy nature can present difficulty if the disposable dish is heavily laded with food and must be held or carried by a user-a frequent occurrence in circumstances where disposable dishes are used.
There are basically two techniques for holding a disposable dish on which there's food. One technique entails grasping the rim of the dish. The thumb of the hand doing the grasping rests on top of the dish's rim and the fingers of that hand curl around the bottom of the dish. A downside to this technique, however, is that it requires grip strength, which may be an issue for some people. Also, if the disposable dish isn't sturdy enough to handle the load it will droop or bend, thereby spilling food from the side of the dish away from the user's hand. To eliminate this possibility the user must employ both hands to control the dish by grasping the dish's rim at locations roughly opposite each other, in which case there isn't a hand available to move food from dish to mouth. Eating then can't commence without the availability of a stable platform of some sort to sustain the disposable dish, and eating is really the whole point of placing food on a dish in the first place.
Another technique for holding/carrying a disposable dish is to balance the dish on a user's open palm with the fingers and thumb of that hand spread apart to steady the dish. Even disposable dishes with a thin composition can be utilized in such a manner since the hand imparts a lot of support for the dish and the food on it. But this method leaves the dish and its contents vulnerable to being knocked off the person's hand. What's more, the disposable dish can slip off the user's hand if it isn't held level. Preventing these mishaps requires two hands, wherein the user secures the dish in place over the open hand by gripping the rim with the other hand. This, again, means there's no free hand to eat with.
An improved design yielding a disposable dish that can be held and carried securely with one hand would have value. The improved design should both enable adequate support for the dish when it contains food and prevent the dish from sliding off or being bumped from a user's hand. The various embodiments provide such a design.